Yes, Lady Funina!

It's been over four hundred years already...

Funina's eyes flickered uncertainly, but now was not the time to think about that. She asked Richard, "But that doesn't mean I have to believe you. What if the information you received is false?"

“Naturally, what I’m talking about isn’t the ‘prophecy,’ but this contract.” Richard shook the contract in his hand, indicating that this was the focus of tonight’s discussion.

"The Book of Contracts, which contains 'rules,' has a binding force that even the Seven Gods of the Mortal World cannot escape, and I am no exception."

“With this contract as a guarantee, and bound by the underlying ‘rules’ of Teyvat, I think you, Frynn, still don’t trust me, right?” Richard said, looking at the girl in front of him.

"You can write down the most vicious punishment you can think of to ensure I won't reveal your secret. For example, if I do, I'll become Miss Funina's dog, and be trampled on by Miss Funina every day..."

“Who would do that!” Funina couldn’t help but retort irritably.

"As for whether the secret will be known by the witnesses of the contract, you can rest assured, because the God of Contracts is dead, and even the Heart of God is with someone else, so he cannot hear your secret." Richard placed the contract on the table and then pushed it in front of Funina.

"Now you can write our contract on it."

Fulina didn't reply, but just stared blankly at the contract in front of her. She didn't doubt Richard's words.

Since the other party had no reason to lie to her, Funina knew that the other party could have used another method to threaten her into revealing the secret.

She doesn't even need to reveal the secret; she only needs to make his speculation public and then be put on trial for 'playing the water god and deceiving the people of Fontainebleau'.

Under the supreme judgment, the truth will naturally have nowhere to hide.

Richard, however, did not do that. He accommodated Furna's almost impossible request and gave what could be called the best answer.

When this answer sheet was placed in front of Funina, even she couldn't bring herself to refuse it.

However, what truly broke Fryna was not the contract, but what Richard said next.

"Furina, you've kept this secret for four hundred years. You must have had a tough time."

Sometimes it's like this: when you're wronged and you're alone, you'll feel sad, but not so sad. But once someone is there to comfort you and understand your pain, it's all the more painful.

This grievance will be amplified without limit, and all the negative emotions that have been suppressed in your heart will burst out with tears.

Frynn was once again filled with water element.

This time she realized she was crying, and she wiped her face haphazardly, trying to stop the tears from overflowing. However, the tears only increased, and large teardrops quickly soaked through Funina's gloves. A few stray tears slid down her cheeks to her chin and finally dripped onto the contract in front of her.

Upon noticing this, Funina quickly pushed the contract further away and tried to wipe away the tears dripping onto it with her sleeve, as if these tears would affect the effectiveness of the contract.

Then a miraculous scene unfolded: Funina's tears fell onto the contract, and before she could wipe them away with her sleeve, they merged into the contract.

The tear seemed to come alive, its strokes flowing across the contract, quickly filling the blank page with words that clearly displayed the terms and conditions, radiating a golden glow.

At the bottom right corner of the contract, a name had been signed at some point.

—Fukaros.

P.S.: Tomorrow's update will be a little late.

Volume 1: Chapter 95 Why does this contract seal seem a bit improper?

“Fukaros?” Furina stared at the name that appeared on the contract. “But…but I…”

Funina looked down at her hands. She clearly hadn't picked up a pen, nor had she thought about how to fill in the blanks on the contract, yet detailed clauses had appeared on the contract itself...

It even has a signature!

The water god—Fukaros.

Is it... the water god she's thinking of?

Funina recalled that day when she first opened her eyes and saw her reflection in the mirror. The scene from that time is still vivid in her mind today and has not been blurred by time.

Holding the contract in her hand, she seemed somewhat at a loss, her eyes slightly red, with tears still clinging to her eyelashes, sliding down her still-wet tear tracks as she blinked.

God, do you agree to let me share the secret with Richard?

Can someone share my mission?

Can I really say it out loud?

Richard's gaze fell upon the 'divine name' radiating a golden hue on the contract. As it was writing the contract with tears, Richard sensed subtle energy fluctuations from the nearby Cardinal of Decree and Judgment.

Following this fluctuation, Richard's elemental perception vaguely 'saw' a pale blue figure. There was no mistake; it was Fukaros, or rather, another Funina.

“Was that the real water god just now?” Richard asked.

“No…no.” Funina instinctively wanted to deny it, but quickly realized that she no longer needed to keep this secret, at least not to Richard.

"Give me the contract." Richard reached out to Funina, asking for the already written contract.

Funina handed the contract back to Richard, but quickly realized that she hadn't signed it yet. She tried to pull it back, but Richard snatched it away and scribbled his mark on it.

After Richard signed the contract, the characters on it seemed to come alive, flying out of the contract and splitting into three, which shot towards Richard, Frynn, and the Cardinal of Decree and Judgment not far away.

The ancient paper that bore the contract had quietly turned into stardust and vanished from the world.

The only proof of the contract's existence was a light blue mark, roughly elongated and diamond-shaped, that quietly appeared on the back of Richard's right hand. It was exquisitely designed and quite beautiful.

However, although it is a diamond-shaped mark, for some reason the top corner of the mark, which should be facing outwards, is reversed and faces downwards. As a result, although the shape is roughly diamond-shaped, it looks like a heart shape when you look closely.

With the addition of soft lines, all the sharp protrusions have been slightly curved, making it less sharp than a proper rhombus and more like a heart shape.

Richard clenched his fist, stretching the skin on the back of his hand until it... looked more like a heart shape!

This seal of contract doesn't look very proper.

Meanwhile, after seeing the mark appear on the back of Richard's right hand, Funina also felt a slight warmth on the back of her left hand.

After taking off her gloves, she also discovered the same mark on the back of her hand as Richard's.

But the problem is... she didn't sign that contract, did she?

Does that mean the contract written with her tears included her as well?

"Furina, all these years, haven't you ever wondered why you were chosen to play the role of the Water God? There were so many choices, but in the end, it was you who was chosen. The most important thing is that you should have just been born at that time. And why was K so sure that you could play the role of the Water God well?"

"Yes...right, why is that?"

"Don't you understand yet? Funina, you are the water goddess." Richard's words startled Funina.

Only if you are the Water God yourself will K be confident that you can play the role of the Water God well. After all, what is more trustworthy than playing yourself?

After signing the contract, a memory, or rather information, automatically surfaced in Richard's mind—about the connection between Fryna and Fukaros, and he finally understood why Wendy had said that Fryna was the water goddess.

Two sides of the same coin: she separated her divinity from her body and spirit, leaving behind a person named Frenina, while the god Frucaros went to accomplish something more important.

As for what this more important matter was, Fukaros didn't tell Richard. That was all the information she gave him, and even Funina herself didn't know the rest.

"I am the water goddess?" Funina's first reaction was that Richard was joking. After all, they had already signed a contract, and Richard should know that she was not the water goddess.

The real water god is someone else, and she was just an actress asked to play the role.

“Without a doubt, you are the water god, but your power is not in yourself, but in another version of you,” Richard said.

"Another...me?" Furness was a little confused by Richard's words. "I'm right here, aren't I? Where is there another me?"

"Isn't it you who signed the contract with me? The water goddess Fucarus, whose earthly name is Funina de Fontaine."

"It's just that you are the 'human' side, while it was your 'god' side that asked you to play the role of the water god."

"Do you understand now?"

Funina murmured, "It's me, you've begged me?"

Richard confirmed, "It's you. Please."

"Sorry, wait a minute, let me sort this out." Funina rubbed her forehead, feeling her brain was a bit overwhelmed; the influx of information left her unsure of what to do.

Richard is supposed to be the one exploring her secrets, but now it feels like he knows more than I do.

If Richard's claim is true, and he is indeed the water god, or rather, an incomplete water god, then where did the missing part of him go?

What is her other self doing?

Oh right, Funina remembered that when she took on the role of the water goddess, she heard the person in the mirror say that she would find a way to save Fontaine.

In other words, another version of myself is also working hard to save Fontaine at this moment?

"I know you have a lot of questions right now, like what the other you is doing?"

"You know?" Funina's hair stood on end, and she stared at Richard with her almond-shaped eyes, not bothering to find out why Richard could always guess what she was thinking so accurately.

More than anything else, she was curious about the answer Richard had given.

"I do not know."

The white ahoge visibly softened, and at the same time, Funina looked at Richard with a bit of a huff, "Don't you know why you're saying all this?"

I thought you knew!

“But even if I don’t know, it doesn’t stop me from making inferences based on the available information,” Richard said.

“Speculation!” Funina looked at Richard expectantly, ready to hear his thoughts.

"First of all, she must be doing something very important."

"Hmm! And then?"

"Secondly, she cannot let anyone else know about this, not even herself, that is, Funina."

"Oh! So..."

“So the current intelligence is too limited, and this is all I can deduce. To deduce more, we need Funina’s help to obtain more information.” Richard paused and then smiled, “Now we should be in the same boat, right, Funina?”

Looking at Richard's gentle smile, Funina's heart skipped a beat. A surge of heat rose from nowhere, making her face feel hot and her breathing quicken. She didn't know what to do with her hands.

"I...I...who's on the same side as you! Don't you already know everything I know? I have no secrets left to hide from you..."

As she spoke, Funina turned her body to the side, her eyes reflecting the musical actors on stage who were holding hands and thanking the audience. Her eyes shimmered, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Richard walked over to Furnessa and stood beside her. "How are you feeling? Feeling much better after telling the secret?"

“Hmm…” This time, Funina didn’t deny it. Indeed, after Richard learned about her deepest secret, she did feel an unprecedented sense of relief.

It was as if a mountain that had been weighing on her body for a long time had been lifted off her shoulders. Even though her mission was still there and she still had to play the role of the water goddess in front of people tomorrow, she felt relieved and felt that the world in front of her had become different.

“Um…” Funina didn’t know what to say. She hesitated for a moment before continuing in a low voice, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Funina,” Richard replied, bowing his head.

Funina felt increasingly uneasy; her face was burning hot, and her relaxed mood turned tense again after receiving Richard's answer.

The girl suddenly clapped exaggeratedly, waved her hand, and shouted loudly to the actors on stage, "Well done! I, Funinga, approve of your performance!"

In Fontaine, most musical producers yearn for Furness's approval, not only because of her status as a water goddess, but also because Furness is the most professional and authoritative figure in the entire Fontaine arts community.

Many of Fontaine’s renowned artists consider the praise from Furnessa to be the highest honor of their lives.

It is precisely for this reason that Fontaine established the "Furina Award" specifically for the Thousand Souls Festival.

Whether Funina genuinely enjoyed the performance tonight or wanted to change the subject to hide her unusual feelings, she did just that.

However, the actors on stage seemed not to hear, as if they had no idea that Furnessa had bestowed upon them the 'highest honor' in the musical theatre world.

“Furina, this is a private room. Although we can see and hear the performance on stage, we can’t hear anything or see anything inside the room from the outside,” Richard explained helplessly.

He watched as the color on Funina's already slightly flushed face deepened until it became as red as an apple. After thinking for a moment, he offered a way out, saying, "But since Funina thinks the performance was good, why not tell them in person?"

"I...I'll go right now." Funina fled the private room as if she were escaping, her beautiful legs moving at lightning speed, showing no intention of waiting for Richard.

After leaving the box, Funina went backstage to meet with the director and actors in charge of the musical performance. She praised their performance and also pointed out many problems from a professional perspective.

The biggest problem is the story of the musical, which is too old-fashioned and lacks originality. Although musicals are mainly about music, a good story is also very important. I suggest that you go back and revise the story properly.

The musical's director looked somewhat troubled at Richard, who was following behind Furnessa. After all, Richard held the copyright to the musical, and as the largest investor, any changes to the story would obviously require his consent.

“Let’s change it according to Funina’s wishes. I will open up the copyright later, and any theater company can perform the play. They can also adapt it, but of course, anything too outrageous will not be allowed. Someone will come and talk to you about these things later,” Richard said.

"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Richard." The musical's director, who is also the head of a renowned theater company, was very pleased to learn that Richard would be releasing the musical's copyright.

This not only means being able to earn Mora, but also means that in the future, one will be able to perform one's own masterpiece without restrictions.

This middle-aged director put in a lot of effort for this drama and used a lot of his personal connections. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this drama is his "own son".

Fu Ningna wasn't surprised that Richard owned the copyright. After all, the story felt so familiar that she could tell at a glance it was a 'custom-made drama'. However, compared to those custom-made dramas created for advertising, Richard's was much more elaborate, and the budget was visibly higher.

“Now that the copyright has been released, I look forward to seeing an even better performance. If it’s not well-made, I’ll take back my evaluation of you,” Fu Ningna said seriously.

"I...I understand, Lady Furina! I promise that next time I will deliver an even more spectacular performance than today! If I can't do that, I'll...I'll just retire from the music industry!" the middle-aged director declared loudly, pounding his chest.

“That’s not necessary…” Funina felt that such punishment was a bit too much. After all, creating a musical is not just about passion; it also requires inspiration. Usually, good works are born from a flash of inspiration for the creator.

After saying goodbye to the actors in the troupe, Funina suddenly remembered something. She reached out and touched the seal of the contract on her left hand, and asked Richard, who was standing next to her, "Will the other me have this mark too?"